commence
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Synonym Usage
See begin.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
commencesimple
-
commencessimple
-
have commencedperfect
-
has commencedperfect
-
am commencingprogressive
-
are commencingprogressive
-
is commencingprogressive
-
have been commencingperfect progressive
-
has been commencingperfect progressive
Past
-
commencedsimple
-
had commencedperfect
-
was commencingprogressive
-
were commencingprogressive
-
had been commencingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of commence
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English commencen, from Anglo-French, Middle French comencer, from unrecorded Vulgar Latin cominitiāre, equivalent to Latin com- com- + initiāre “to begin”; see initiate
Explanation
Commence is a fancy way of saying "begin." Your invitation to a formal wedding might note, "The ceremony will commence at noon." If a congressman wants to start a meeting to vote on an important bill, he might say, "This meeting will begin immediately." Or, he could make the same statement in a more formal way by saying, "This meeting will commence immediately." Interestingly enough, while the word commence means to start, a commencement ceremony marks the end of a college career.
Vocabulary lists containing commence
Bud, Not Buddy
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Essential English Vocabulary, List 1
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List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The nonprofit said at the time that it would continue operating the East Potomac course “until the National Park Service is ready to commence a historic restoration there.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
In a written submission, he said not disclosing the names at this stage was a "time-limited decision" until "proceedings commence substantively" in the UK.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
Complications commence when a space research vessel smashes into Prodigy Corp.-controlled Bangkok.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
"His condition continues to deteriorate and will need more fully to be reviewed before any trial may commence," argued the defence.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
At his first game against Tal, in Bled, Bobby was already at the board when the twenty-three-year-old Mischa arrived just in time to commence play.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
His treatment of the Troll Wall in Norway, Europe’s highest rock face and the cliff Sasha is scaling when the film commences, is a hallucination that turns the world upside down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
District Judge Tanya Chutkan, has to decide before the actual trial commences what evidence proffered by the DOJ will be admissible.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2024
"The synthesis process is undermined and fewer proteins of the subunit ND5, which is of central relevance to complex I, are formed because the whole process commences with the respiratory chain," added Friedland.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 25, 2024
Now the waiting game commences for when - and how - she will throw in the towel.
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2024
To my left, Manuel de Moya commences reminiscing about his New York modeling days.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
That’s changed since last fall, when a historic borrowing spree to fund AI infrastructure commenced.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026
Fourth-quarter debt and lease liabilities rose 50% from last year to $156 billion, and the company had another $261 billion in lease liabilities that hadn’t commenced as of February.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
Principal photography commenced later that year in Cannes, Nice and the Côte d’Azur, and re-created the festival atmosphere.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
The strike action, which commenced in January, has meant that no Crown Court cases involving defendants who require legal aid can proceed.
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
I’d barely closed my eyes good when T.R. went to growling and the mules commenced raring up and squealing.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Hanson said she was "disappointed" with the decision and that she and her legal team would review it "with a view to commencing an appeal in the High Court of Australia".
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Meanwhile, people close to the talks say there has been no substantive progress made yet by the U.S. and Iranian teams on a final nuclear agreement, with technical talks on the issue barely commencing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Reports indicate SpaceX is targeting a June listing with trading commencing shortly after.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
The group for the tour of Australia, beginning in November, is due to be announced in the week commencing 22 September.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2025
It was then that the prosecution began its exam-ination of expert witnesses commencing with the long-suffering Professor Murray, its supposed expert in communism who had proved so inept in his subject during the preparatory examination.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
